New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, January 24, 2020:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Jan. 24, 2020
* NYNY2001.24

- Birds mentioned
AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN+
BARNACLE GOOSE+
PAINTED BUNTING+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Red-necked Grebe
Razorbill
Iceland Gull
BLACK-HEADED GULL
EURASIAN WIGEON
HARLEQUIN DUCK
GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
PINK-FOOTED GOOSE (deceased)
TUNDRA SWAN
Rough-legged Hawk
Red-headed Woodpecker
Boat-tailed Grackle
LAPLAND LONGSPUR
GRASSHOPPER SPARROW
Orange-crowned Warbler
VARIED THRUSH

- Transcript

If followed by (+) please submit documentation of your report electronically and use the NYSARC online submission form found at http://www.nybirds.org/NYSARC/goodreport.htm

You can also send reports and digital image files via email to nysarc44 (at)nybirds{dot}org.

If electronic submission is not possible, hardcopy reports and photos or sketches are welcome. Hardcopy documentation should be mailed to:

Gary Chapin - Secretary
NYS Avian Records Committee (NYSARC)
125 Pine Springs Drive
Ticonderoga, NY 12883

Hotline: New York City Area Rare Bird Alert
Number: (212) 979-3070

Compiler: Tom Burke
Coverage: New York City, Long Island, Westchester County

Transcriber: Ben Cacace

BEGIN TAPE

Greetings. This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, January 24th 2020 at 9pm. The highlights of today's tape are PAINTED BUNTING, VARIED THRUSH, AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, BARNACLE GOOSE, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, plus an apparent deceased PINK-FOOTED GOOSE, TUNDRA SWAN, EURASIAN WIGEON, HARLEQUIN DUCK, BLACK-HEADED GULL, LAPLAND LONGSPUR, GRASSHOPPER SPARROW and more.

A female plumaged PAINTED BUNTING at Jones Beach was seen as recently as Wednesday in the shrubbery around the Children's Playground that is next to the parking lot for the Gatsby Restaurant. This parking lot is off eastbound Ocean Parkway just west of the circle around Jones Beach water tower. Though the Brooklyn Bridge Park BUNTING was not reported this week the VARIED THRUSH in Prospect Park, after going unobserved for awhile, was refound Monday and seen daily through today still in the vicinity of the Nethermead Arches and Ravine.

Yesterday an AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN was spotted on Mill Pond in Sayville located on the north side of Montauk Highway. Today the PELICAN was moving around a bit returning a couple of times to Mill Pond but later in the day it seems to have settled onto the pond at the San Souci County Nature Preserve located a little east of Mill Pond but also on the north side of Montauk Highway.

We have received word of a PINK-FOOTED GOOSE shot by a hunter recently, the carcass on its way apparently to the American Museum of Natural History. But we as yet have no details.

BARNACLE GOOSE continues to visits Belmont Lake State Park roosting there overnight and seen on the lake at various times during the day. Out on eastern Long Island in the Riverhead area another BARNACLE GOOSE has been traveling with Canada Geese being seen at a few sites from the Northville Turnpike on Route 105 sod fields to areas further west including Doctor's Path around Reeves Avenue and even as far as Hulse Landing Road. Perhaps more than one BARNACLE GOOSE is involved. Recent GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE include one today with a Snow Goose on Van Cortlandt Park lake in the Bronx these birds perhaps relocating from the Rye area, a group of 4 on Amawalk Reservoir in northern Westchester today, one in the Riverhead area recently and one at Hook Pond in East Hampton earlier in the week. Two TUNDRA SWANS were also on Hook Pond on Tuesday. A female EURASIAN WIGEON was spotted again today at Bush Terminal Piers Park and the young male HARLEQUIN DUCK was still present today in Brooklyn's Sheepshead Bay with 4 also continuing at Orient Point.

An adult BLACK-HEADED GULL remains around the sand spit off the Jones Beach West End Coast Guard Station with another still at Brooklyn Bridge Park Tuesday. ICELAND GULLS were noted this week in Brooklyn around the Sheepshead and Gravesend Bay area and at the Brooklyn Bridge Park with a report today also from Central Park Reservoir.

The occasional RAZORBILL has been appearing along the Brooklyn shoreline and 2 were reported off Pelham Bay Park today with many more along the Atlantic shore.

Single ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS continue along Ocean Parkway in the Captree area and around the Riverhead sod fields, a COMMON GALLINULE was still on the Bellmore Mill Pond Wednesday, a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER continues in Central Park's north end and only a few RED-NECKED GREBE reports include singles at Breezy Point and Brooklyn's Dead Horse Bay and at Montauk's Culloden Point.

Amongst the interesting passerines were a LAPLAND LONGSPUR at Nickerson Beach last weekend, a GRASSHOPPER SPARROW remaining at Playland Park in Rye, a female BOAT-TAILED GRACKLE continuing in Central Park's north end and up to 3 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS together in the Willow Lake section of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park this week.

To phone in reports call Tom Burke at (914) 967-4922.

This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the National Audubon Society. Thank you for calling.

- End transcript